BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
814 (Hill)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 07/01/2010
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: ER&CA 4-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 814 requires local election officials to
provide a notification to voters that they will receive a state
ballot pamphlet and/or a voter information guide for every
statewide election.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Notification --------------minor, less
than $50------------ General*
*Reimbursable local mandate.
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Local county officials have indicated that they will most likely
print the information required in this measure on the sample
ballot booklet without additional costs, and that some counties
already enclose an insert with their sample ballots and that
this required information would just be added to that insert.
Therefore, any costs associated with
AB 814 are expected to be minor to local elections officials.
Under current law, elections officials are required to produce a
sample ballot for each ballot type. The sample ballot must be
mailed between 40 and 21 days before the election to each voter
who is registered at least 29 days prior to the election. A
notice of polling place must be sent to voters that register
after 29 days before an election. Counties must also provide a
vote by mail ballot to each qualified vote by mail voter prior
to an election.
AB 814 will require elections officials to include a
notification with the sample ballot or the notice of the polling
place, which would inform the voter that he or she will also
receive a state ballot pamphlet.
AB 814 will require the elections officials to notify each
qualified vote by mail voter that he or she will receive a voter
information guide that contains detailed information on the
candidates and measures that will be on the ballot for the
election.
The Secretary of State is required to produce the state ballot
pamphlet (also known as the Voter Information Guide) for each
statewide election, and to mail one to each household in the
state where a registered voter resides not later than 21 days
prior to an election.
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AB 814 (Hill)
This bill is the result of complaints from a number of voters in
San Mateo County that their state ballot pamphlets for the June
8, 2010 Statewide Primary Election were not received. However,
the Secretary of State issued a statement on June 4, 2010
informing voters, in summary, that Voter Information Guides were
delivered to the U. S. Postal Service in San Francisco for San
Mateo County between April 22 and May 13, and were then
distributed to area post offices at that time. Additionally,
voter guides are available at every polling place, every county
elections office, every public library, and are also posted on
the Internet at www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov.
Since 2008, state voter guides have been distributed one per
voter household rather than sending one guide to each voter.